Drought Status
Drought Status
Drought Status
The Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee confers weekly to advise the U.S. Drought Monitor authors on the current drought conditions in Arizona, and makes recommendations about the position of the drought boundaries for Arizona. The U.S. Drought Monitor is the official record of drought for Federal drought relief claims. Information used by the MTC in advising the Drought Monitor authors includes numerous drought indices, precipitation and stream flow data, and impacts data. Every Thursday, the Drought Status web page automatically updates with the latest U.S. Drought Monitor map of Arizona.
Monthly Drought Status Summary: AUGUST 2023
August temperatures were much above average in most counties, while Mohave, Coconino, and northern Apache and Navajo counties had near to slightly above normal temperatures. The remnants of tropical cyclone Hilary impacted western Yuma, Mohave, and Coconino counties, leaving these areas in the top 10% of August precipitation. Most of the state remained very dry, and Maricopa and Gila counties experienced much below average August precipitation.
Severe (D2) short-term drought returned to the state (18% total), largely in central and southeastern counties. Moderate (D1) short-term drought expanded into Apache and Pinal counties, southern Navajo and Coconino counties, and portions of Pima county (29% of state), while fully removed in Yuma and La Paz counties and most of Mohave county. The rest of the state had Abnormally Dry (D0) conditions (44% of state) or no drought (9% of state).
El Nino conditions continue to mature across the tropical Pacific, and will reach at least moderate strength over the winter. However, forecasts only indicate a modest tilt in odds towards wetter than normal weather later in the winter season.
This report was prepared by the Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee on September 13, 2023. Arizona's short-term drought status map is updated during the first week of each month.
Quarterly Drought Status Update: APRIL-JUNE 2023
A wet winter brought improvement to Arizona’s long-term drought. Extreme (D3) long-term drought remained in small areas of Maricopa, Mohave, La Paz, Coconino, and Yuma counties, as did Moderate (D1) and Severe (D2) long-term drought. Exceptional (D4) long-term drought remained in southwestern La Paz County. Eastern and southern counties, as well as most of Gila and Pinal counties, continued without long-term drought.
El Nino conditions have now become established over the tropical Pacific, and odds are slightly tilted towards drier than normal conditions across much of the Southwest for at least the first half of the summer monsoon.
This report was prepared by the Arizona Drought Monitoring Technical Committee, July 13, 2023. Arizona's long-term drought status map is updated quarterly and the next update in early September , it will reflect the conditions of July, August and September. The long-term drought status for each watershed is determined by comparing the precipitation and streamflow percentiles for the past 24, 36, 48 and 60 months to a 40-year historical record.